BBC Radio 3 broadcast - TODAY!!

Hello folks!

The last few weeks have been incredibly busy - lots of exciting things going on! If you're around this evening, I'll be performing live on BBC Radio 3's 'In Tune' programme. I will be interviewed by Sean Rafferty, and performing live from the studio shortly after 5pm.

This Friday (26th February), I'll be performing the Glazunov Concerto with the European Union Chamber Orchestra at St. George's Bristol. It would be really great to see any friends that can make it! Let me know! The concert starts at 7.30pm.

On Saturday, I'll be on the other side of the country, down in Whitstable for a recital. Full details are available on the website.

Then on Sunday, I fly up to Scotland for a couple of days... where I intend to do nothing other than catch up with myself, eat great food and take full advantage of the spa facilities, especially the rooftop hot tub!! (Though my sax will be coming too so that I can continue the preparations for the concertos and recitals in March!)

Right, must dash... got reeds to sort through!!

Hope to catch up with people soon! Xx

A little update...

As I write, I am surrounded by sheep in a tiny village in Yorkshire, where I have been based this week for 8 concerts. I am sitting with a glass of wine in the village pub, waiting for my bangers and mash to arrive! When I am in the countryside, there are ALWAYS far more hours in the day (something about London means time just slips through your fingers!) and so I am using the time wisely and catching up on things I never seem to have time to do! As usual, I have left far too long between blogs, and am trying to remember what I have been up to over the last few months!
Back in April, I had my second Wigmore Hall recital this season. That was great fun - I really enjoyed it. It was only marred by the fact that whilst I was rehearsing in the hall in the afternoon, all of my jewellery and make-up was stolen from the Green Room backstage. This was not only shocking, but incredibly distressing as I lost a lot of sentimental things including a diamond ring which was a present from my parents. I only realised what had happened as I got ready to go on stage and could not find the relevant things. Anyway, I had to go on stage, (sadly without my favourite pieces of jewellery that I had selected to wear) but I was determined not to let it affect my performance. Despite the unbelievable goings on backstage, I would like to remember the positive things, which was being able to perform in such a fantastic hall once again. And it was great to see so many friends in the audience! I was really happy with my performance, and it was great to see a very nice review in The Times!
After my Wigmore recital, I finally managed to get round to booking up my Christmas present from Oli - a wonderful day at The Sanctuary Spa in Covent Garden complete with massage and facial etc! Absolute bliss! I thoroughly recommend this to all girls!
I have now finished my studies in Paris - I have had a brilliant time with Jean-Yves over the last four years and I'm really looking forward to putting everything I have absorbed into practise. My time with him has been totally invaluable, and I'll miss him, but after 10 years of formal study, I think it's now time for me to fly by myself!My recitals over the last couple of months have taken me all over the place. I love visiting all these different places and playing in the festivals - some of the places I have recently performed at include the Queen's Theatre in Barnstaple, and the Honiton, Beaumaris, Cambridge, Corsham and Harrogate International Festivals. Additionally, I've been busy in the Orchestra, with concerts ranging from a world premiere with the BBC Concert Orchestra to an Abba concert (in the rain)!
Next week should be very interesting - I will be up in Aldeburgh for a few days to play bass clarinet and clarinet in a small chamber opera. I am looking forward to spending some time by the sea - and I have just been informed that I'll be staying in a holiday cottage on the seafront! Very nice! Visitors welcome!
Aside from all my musical commitments, I have found time to indulge in another of my passions which is going to the theatre. I saw 'A Little Night Music', which my former teacher's son was starring in and 'Madame de Sade' with Dame Judy Dench - both were fantastic. I also saw 'Oliver!' for the fourth time, which coincided with Rowan Atkinson's last performance as Fagin. I wouldn't normally see something four times, but when your boyfriend is in the orchestra, it's quite nice to pop along every so often! And it's a GREAT show! Most recently, I saw Henry Goodman in 'Duet for One'. This was acting at its best. Funnily enough, I got chatting to the gentleman sat next to me, who happened to be a former Head of Sixth Form at the Purcell School (where I studied from 1999-2001) and also a former Director of the Menuhin School… it's funny who you meet at the theatre!!
I am soon going to be whisked away by my lovely (and rather neglected of late!) boyfriend for a much-needed holiday. I still don't know where I am going - he has arranged it all by himself and the destination is a surprise! I have been informed that I will just need my sunglasses and bikini to go with the 3 injections I have had to have! Wherever it is, it sounds like my perfect holiday! I think he gets 11/10 for that!
I ought to sign off now and get some sleep. I'm giving a recital tomorrow in a converted stable! It actually sounds very nice - it is set in beautiful gardens (hope the rain holds off!) in Kent and there is a champagne reception, although I think I'll save this bit of the evening until AFTER I have played!
Goodnight x

Wiggers!

Hello! It's been such a beautiful day today... Spring is finally here! I was so pleased to have a day off and enjoy the sunshine - this is my favourite time of year! And I'm so happy that my bulbs have finally flowered!

I've been busy preparing for my next Wigmore Hall recital, which is in a couple of weeks. It only seems like last week that I did the last one there! In fact, it was 4 months ago - where on earth does the time go?! I'm really looking forward to playing there again. It is a very special place, and my debut last November was a very special evening, which I'll always remember fondly. The Tillett Trust organised a wonderful reception afterwards, but unfortunately I didn't even manage a glass of wine... there were so many people there and I was still on a different planet! Here I am pictured after the concert with Richard Addison, who taught me for four years whilst I was a student at the Royal Academy of Music.

That week in November was incredibly busy. The night before the Wigmore recital, I gave a recital in Watford for Octagon Music Society. This is one of the nicest societies I have played for - we were so well looked after, a wonderful venue, and a great audience! And it was so nice to be giving a concert in my home town. Anthea Spensley had invited us to play there - Anthea was my music teacher at secondary school and organised my very first saxophone lesson!

The day after the Wigmore, I was back in my pink fairy outfit, (with my pink sax, of course!) giving a concert for special needs children. I love the variety! Then, the next day, I had a lesson in Paris! Oli came over with me, and we had a nice few days together. For once, I did all the things which people assume I'm doing all the time in Paris, such as taking a trip up the Eiffel Tower! We spent a perfect evening in Montmartre, taking full advantage of the French cuisine, and the highlight was going to the Moulin Rouge! I can't recommend it enough... absolutely fantastic!

I gave a recital at St. George's, Bristol not so long ago. That is another lovely venue. Then there was my first Bolero, which I did in the Barbican, playing both the tenor sax and bass clarinet! I can't believe that I've been playing for so long, and never actually played Bolero with orchestra - it defies all logic as a saxophonist! This was a lovely concert though, because I was sat next to my former teacher Alf Wallbank, who taught me from 15-18. When the orchestra stood up at the end of the concert, he put his arm round me and made a very touching comment - it made me realise how much has happened since he knew me as that slightly saxophone-obsessed school girl!

Other recent highlights include a weekend in Poland with my aunt and uncle. This was a lovely treat. When I saw my uncle at Christmas, he was talking about taking a business trip out to Poland, and asked what my diary was like in January. Next thing I knew, I had an email from him telling me that he had booked a flight for me to go out and join him and my aunt! We had a lovely time catching up with my Polish family... and I made a snowman with the little Marcinowiczs! Other than that, we ate and drank... a lot! Halina is such a wonderful cook, and I'm sure I came back a couple of stone heavier!

Back in January, I had the luxury of going to the opening night of 'Oliver' in the West End. Fittingly, my boyfriend 'Oliver' plays the on-stage violin part! It was an absolutely fantastic evening, which ended with getting a cab in the early hours... with about 50 helium balloons!! The show was brilliant, and I really urge everybody to go and see it before Rowan Atkinson ends his run as Fagin in July.

A couple of weeks ago, I flew from Paris up to Scotland for a few days between my lessons. My mum and dad have had a timeshare up there for a couple of years, and I'd never made it up, so I was determined to go this year! It was wonderful... once I'd managed to win the battle with the jobs-worth people who work for Ryanair who wouldn't let me take my sax on as hand luggage EVEN though it fitted in the rack! You should have seen his face light up when he realised I was carrying a 'forbidden' musical instrument as hand luggage! I informed him that, should he wish to rob me of more money, I would check my EMPTY sax case into the hold, put my passport, phone and purse down my sax bell, and walk through security holding my sax as my ONE piece of hand luggage!! Thankfully, he used his common sense, but only after he'd phoned his boss for advice on the matter... anybody would think I was trying to smuggle something illegal! But the time in Scotland was fantastic... the highlight probably being the fact that we had use of the spa facilities! Sitting in the roof-top hot tub, in the snow, looking at the stars was pretty spectacular. It was nice because my brother was there too, and Oli flew up for a few days as well. Adam took us all up a mountain... totally off track! He claims it was a walk in the park, but it really was a mountain in my book! We experienced 4 seasons in just a few hours, and when we made our descent, we were trawling through waist-height snow! We even had to cross a fast-flowing river, which my mum promptly fell into... it was actually pretty scary, but luckily she was ok... thank God for the bit of bush she grabbed hold of on the bank!!

So, now it's back to hard work, and getting ready for my Wigmore recital on 6th April. I performed the programme just a couple of days ago at St. James's Piccadilly. I'd only arrived in London from Paris at midnight the night before and woke up with an awful migraine. This happens occasionally when I'm overworking myself - I think it comes as a warning to slow down a bit! Thankfully, it had worn off by late morning, and I really enjoyed the concert. I was very impressed because when I was warming up in the church in the morning, a homeless man asked me if there was a lunchtime recital, and wanted to know what time it started. When I saw him making himself comfortable in the pews at about 2.10pm after the concert, I realised that he only wanted to know so that he could go out for an hour and AVOID the concert! That made me laugh! I was pretty knackered after playing, but the day was not over, as I was to be interviewed for a magazine. You can imagine my sheer delight when Helen, who was conducting the interview, suggested we go to Fortnum and Mason's for afternoon tea!! That was a lovely way to unwind after a recital! I then managed to catch Oli between his two 'Oliver' shows, and he treated me to a much-needed deep tissue massage in China Town!

So, that's what's been going on in my world. It's time for me to hit the sax (I mean the sack!!) now... I hope to see you at the Wigmore Hall! xx

Fun Fun Fun!

Once again, it has been way too long since I last updated my Blog... Given that, at the moment, I barely have time to eat and sleep (never mind wade through boxes of reeds in a desperate search for 'the one'!) I hope I can be forgiven!

I had a lesson in Paris today and have just got back to London. I'm rehearsing with Daniel over the next few days in preparation for my Wigmore Hall recital this Monday. I had hoped to get some sleep on the Eurostar... but not much chance of that unfortunately. Why do so many people confuse the train with their office?! I know all about 'Felicity's' business trip to Brussels next week (as I'm sure the rest of the carriage do too), and how she needs her meetings changed from Tuesday to Wednesday... why do people talk so loudly down their mobiles when they're on a train?! I even know that her daughter had a boiled egg for dinner!! So much for 'We hope you have a pleasant and enjoyable journey with Eurostar'!!!!

Anyway, grumpiness aside, things have been going great. I'm really looking forward to playing in Wigmore Hall on Monday (and wearing my new dress and matching sparkly shoes!!)

I managed to get a couple of days off a couple of weeks ago... I always try to take 2 days off about 3 weeks before a big recital and recharge my musical batteries - I find it injects a freshness into my soul before the home stretch! My wonderful boyfriend Oli took me to Dorset, where we stayed in a beautiful B&B in the middle of nowhere and devoured fantastic food. We were supposed to go Zorbing (where you're strapped in a massive ball and rolled down a hill!) but unfortunately it was cancelled due to the strong winds :-( We'll just have to go again next season! So... we did lots of nice walking in the fresh air. On one such walk, we climbed a massive mountain (Oli would probably call it a gentle hill, but it's a matter of opinion!) Anyway, from the top we could see a beautiful old church which looked like its sides had been blown off. We tried to find it once we got back to the village, but to no avail, and noone seemed to know what we were talking about... UNTIL breakfast the next day when the girl serving us told us it was in Alfred Brendel's garden... and Alfred Brendel owned the house directly OPPOSITE where we were staying!! How random is that?! We were literally, in the middle of nowhere!! Anyway, to cut a very long story short, we ended up having a tour of the church (which has been beautifully restored since it's sides were indeed blown off!), which progressed onto a tour of the gardens... and finally the beautiful manor house, which is home to about five gorgeous pianos and plenty more cds! We left with a very generous invitation to the recital series held in the church next season... and needless to say, I invited Alfred to my Wigmore recital!!

Playing wise, this season started off very well with a lunchtime recital in Fairfield Hall. I always find it interesting being front of house before a concert - it's a chance to see your audience before you walk onto the platform. I was sat having a quick coffee with my mum, dad and Oli about 45 minutes before the start. This was before I had glammed myself up, so I was in my jeans and jumper with no make-up... generally not looking like I was about to put on my favourite sparkly dress and give a recital! As it was quite busy, we were actually sharing a table with two very nice ladies who were obviously coming to my concert. Therefore, we couldn't help but hear their conversation as they sat with a programme and discussed the concert... and the fact that surely it wasn't a GIRL playing the saxophone, and how the girl looked in the photo etc etc etc TOTALLY oblivious to the fact that the girl they were talking about was sat next to them!! My mum's chuckle gave it away, and I reassured them that I would be glamming myself up for the concert before I dashed back to my dressing room! The two ladies found my mum at the end and reported back that they loved the concert... and my dress! Phew!

My pink sax has had a few outings. A couple of months ago, Daniel and I played for the children at the Royal Free Hospital. I really love giving concerts like these - and it's so touching to see how enthusiastic and positive these children can be when they are so poorly. I also did a concert with my friend Abbie at a school for children with special needs. As this was a 'Pink Concert', I was obviously in my element! Due to my hectic schedule, I had limited time to gather props, so I just mentioned to my mum that if she saw anything suitable, would she mind getting it for me. Next thing I know, mum presents me with a huge bag full of pink fairy outfits, glittery magic wands, pink sparkly stickers, pink feather boas, fairy wings for me, and pink marshmallows! Wow! It was brilliant - the children loved it! And my pink saxophone and Abbie's pink flute were a hit with the children... and also the adults!

I've realised that I've become a little bit too dependent on my sat nav when travelling to concert venues... and I should actually have a better grasp of where I am going. On one recent venture, Tom Tom dutifully delivered us to the venue for the rehearsal. Then, before the concert, I went with my dear friend Laura to find some food. Off we drove, chatting away, catching up on the previous 6 months (I hate it when I realise I don't see some of my best friends often enough), taking no notice of where we were going because we had Tom Tom to get us back again for the concert. Well, we had a lovely dinner, got in the car to go back to the concert venue... and... crash bang wollop... the sat nav doesn't turn on! (And yes, it was charged up!) But it was ok because we knew the name of the venue to ask someone for directions... or not!! No, the post code we used to get there was stored on the sat nav, and the printed sheet with the concert details on was in my sax case... at the venue!! We spent the next half hour driving around trying to retrace our steps, until we finally recognised something... a board advertising 'free-range eggs'!! We'd never been so happy to see an egg! And made it back, albeit slightly stressed! The moral of the story is DON'T just rely on sat nav! IT CAN LET YOU DOWN! A few days later, it started working again... not sure how to explain that one.

I've got lots of exciting things coming up... including another Wigmore Hall recital on April 6th 2009. I'll keep you posted. I'm also giving a recital in Watford this Sunday (the night before the Wigmore Hall) for Octagon Music Society. I haven't given a recital in my home town for a very long time, so I'm very excited to be playing to lots of old friends. Right now though, I think it's time for bed... Henri Sax has got a busy day tomorrow and he needs me to play all the right notes! Hope to see you on Monday! xxxx

Pink Sax!

I've just realised that I haven't updated my blog since December... I don't know where the time goes!! Lots of exciting things have happened since then... the first being the arrival of my new PINK saxophone, which I absolutely love! It's fantastic! (And brilliant for when I give Live Music Now! performances and workshops!)

Back in January, I gave a recital in the Purcell Room as a Park Lane Group Young Artist. I performed the world premiere of 'Leonardo's Dream' for saxophone and piano, with the composer Giles Swayne. I commissioned the work from Giles (with much appreciated funding from the RVW Trust and Britten-Pears Foundation) especially for the concert. In these situations you can never be too sure about what you're going to get (I like the anticipation!), but I can honestly say that I was absolutely delighted with what he wrote! It was a wonderful experience to work with Giles (we had a great time!) - and I look forward to performing the piece many more times in the future. The concert was a great success and we had some nice reviews in the national press. One particular review made me laugh... 'Marcinowicz was unfazed by something dropping off of her instrument just before starting to play Bennett's Sonata; an inspection of the piece lying on the floor drew a nonchalant "that's OK" from her!' Yes, the audience gasped when there was a ringing sound of metal falling onto the stage... but I thought that most people had realised that it was just my sparkly hair clip that had fallen out!!!!

In February I did an audition for The Tillett Trust... it was one of those crazy days. Daniel and I were giving concerts in Bedfordshire in the morning/lunchtime and our audition was in London mid-afternoon (it hadn't been possible to change the time of the audition). It was one of those times when you just PRAY the M1 is not clogged up... and thankfully all went reasonably to plan (we'd included driving round and round Regent's Park to find two car parking spaces as part of the plan!!) We had already performed our audition programme twice earlier in the day, so we were feeling pretty relaxed, and the playing went very well. However, after the playing, I had an interview with the panel - there were 6-8 people on the panel, and I found the interview far more nerve-wracking than the playing! In these situations, especially after playing, your mind can go a bit funny! When they asked me who had been conducting when I recently played with the London Symphony Orchestra, I could not, for the life of me, remember who it was!! All I could say was that he was French... 'but not one of the obvious ones!!' Oh dear... how embarrassing!! Of course, his name totally came back to me as soon as I had left the audition room!

Anyway, a couple of days later, I received some great news... I have been selected as a soloist for the Young Artists' Platform for the 2008/09 season. This means that I will be giving a number of recitals around the UK, as well as a recital at the Wigmore Hall on 17th November. I'll be sharing the Wigmore concert with the Sitkovetsky/Wu/Elschenbroich Piano Trio - I've heard they are absolutely fantastic, so it should be a really great concert and I am looking forward to it immensely.

The following day, while I was still somewhere up in the clouds after the good news, the Park Lane Group phoned me to say that, following the Purcell Room recitals in January, they have also selected me and Daniel to give a recital in Wigmore Hall during the 2008/09 season! I'm so excited about the future now - it's a real boost to know we've got some wonderful concerts in the diary.

As I write, my brother is climbing somewhere near Everest. He's out there for about 7 weeks taking various groups to Everest Base Camp, and up mountains in the vicinity. It's SO different from my life... he's incredibly fit... and quite simply, I'm not!! I've been thinking about this fact quite a bit recently, and although I have pretty good stamina when I'm performing, I sometimes wonder if it's just the adrenaline carrying me through! So, especially with lots of solo concerts coming up, I have made a conscious decision to improve my fitness, and have joined a jacuzzi (whoops, I mean a gym!) After discovering my resting heart rate is ridiculously high (and after 10 minutes on a cross trainer had reached 169!!), I have decided to do something about it! And I feel so much better for it! I'm now swimming 3-4 times a week, and a personal trainer has devised a programme for me. I'm kind of looking forward to the challenges... but I need lots of encouragement!!!!

I've just got my sax back from the vets after having lots of work done... I was getting pretty frustrated with a few things, but had been told by a repairer that the sax is fine(!) I always blame myself when I think 'the sax doesn't work' - it's usually the quickest way of solving a problem! However, by last week, I was so frustrated that I asked Jean-Yves to play my sax. Jean-Yves can sound wonderful on anything, but I must admit that I was totally relieved when he said 'I don't know how you've been managing to play this'!! I took it to another repairer straight away who said 'it's leaking like a sieve'!! It transpired that there were all sorts of funny things going on with the way the instrument had been set up - and it's now wonderful! The moral of the story is to seek a second opinion when you disagree with someone! I've got a lot of reacquainting to do, but it's so great (and important!) to have an instrument that is working at its absolute best.

Right... I think it's time for a swim now...

Busy Busy Busy!

Well, HELLO FRIENDS! And welcome to my very 1st BLOG! (I hope this works because it's all new to me!)

SO much has happened over the last couple of months... starting from the recital in the Royal Festival Hall. I was absolutely delighted by how much support I received - it was so great to see so many friends out there - from so many different areas of my life! And what a great big place to play in?! - fantastic experience!! My sax and I had a much needed rest after that - and I had a wonderful few days of catching up with all my buddies. In fact, the day after, I went to London Zoo with Nikki, to find the bearded pig I adopted for her! It was nice to do something normal instead of practising, rehearsing and getting frustrated with reeds!! (If you call going to the zoo normal!!)

Playing wise, things are going well... I'm loving my lessons with Jean-Yves Fourmeau in Paris - he's such an inspiration. Hearing him in my lessons spurs me on to keep practising! He makes the most divine sound... This week has been a bit manic though - trying to juggle concerts, rehearsals, lessons and lives in two different countries!! No joke, I've made THREE RETURN trips between London and Paris in just over a week!! I'm so good at juggling now, that I'm considering getting a part-time job in a circus!! Those who know me best, will know that I never take the easy option and pack my life to the brim! But I'm having great fun! After all these journeys, I now have Eurostar 'Carte Blanche' status, which basically just means that I can use all the 'Business Premiere' facilities... a bit poncy I know, but it's so nice to get free drinks, food and newspapers!! The internet facilitles also come in quite handy - there are ALWAYS e mails that need to be sent! I could work full-time just managing all my admin, without even touching an instrument - so those 15 mins in the departure lounge can be very helpful!! I stick out like a sore thumb in the Business lounge - everyone else is suited with a laptop, and then I usually roll in, in my jeans, with my sax, seeing how many freebies I can get out of the fridge!! Eurostar has served me well, apart from when it was delayed by nearly 2 hours and nearly made me late for my audition for the RFH recital - I was already the last one in the day as I had lessons in Paris, so if I was late, that was it! I HAD to warm up, and as the time ticked by, there was nothing else I could do... so, there I was serenading the staff in the restaurant carriage!! Got to waterloo and jumped in a cab to get me to Guildhall, where Daniel was holding the fort!! I literally threw my sax together as I went into the audition... it was one of the best performances Daniel and I have given together and we got the RFH recital and also some funding towards my lessons in Paris. So I think there's a lot to be said for not taking things TOO seriously (though I don't like living my life on SUCH a sharp edge!!)

Linz came out to Paris for a few days so we could spend some quality friendship time together - she had done some great research and we had a wonderful few days of sitting in fantastic Parisian cafes and restaurants eating great cheese and drinking fine wine (with a bit of sax in between!) We even went on a river cruise down the Seine - parfait!

I went in to play with the London Symphony Orchestra a couple of times last month, which was wonderful! They really are a great bunch to play with! I'm playing with the London Concert Orchestra soon too - Symphony Hall on 27th December and Barbican on New Year's Day!!

It's not all been hunky dory though... a couple of weeks ago I was driving back from some concerts in North Yorkshire (alone), when I was involved in a nasty accident on the M1. That soon brought me back down to earth. I was number 3 in a pile-up of 4 vehicles, with a van going into the back of me. My car got totally smashed up, particularly the back end, and my heart totally sank as I remembered my saxes were in the boot... I couldn't bare to open my alto case until about 3 hours after the crash - it had been really far back in the boot and would have taken most of the force of the collision. But by some miracle it survived!! My soprano has been playing up though since the accident and I think some of the keywork may have shifted on impact - it's going to the vets tomorrow to be sorted out!! There's a wonderful sax vet in Paris, so I'm hoping he can work some magic! Cars are just machines and can be replaced, but my saxes are much more than just my machines - I would have been totally gutted if my alto had got damaged. My car was totally undriveable and so I was delivered back to my parents, very shaken up, with a very mangled car, by a very nice recovery man who came to get me! I think mum and dad thought they'd got rid of me and my brother, but we like to keep them on their toes with a few surprises! I've been suffering with whiplash and back pain since, which is not great for playing the saxophone and clarinet - I'm seeing the physio tomorrow so hopefully I'll get sorted out soon. My little Corsa has now gone to the car crusher and I've just got a new car! Very exciting - although all the controls are in different places, so we need to spend some time making friends, otherwise I'll be spraying water when I mean to indicate!!!!

So, Christmas is creeping up once again... and I'm not feeling very Christmassy yet! Adam (my brother) won't be around because he's leading his first expedition up Kilimanjaro, which is awesome! Traditional X-mas eve drinks with my school chums will also be a bit different this year because Nikki is on vet call in WALES!! :-( My aunt and uncle were victims of the flooding in June, and STILL have no downstairs to their house! So... EVERYBODY is coming down to mum and dad's!! That's 11 people and 2 dogs!! Argh!! When I asked mum where I was going to sleep, she admitted that she'd totally forgotten about me!! Great!! Anybody got a spare bed going?!

What's next? Well, Daniel and I are doing our Purcell Room recital on the 8th of January - so busy preparing for that! Lots to do! We're playing some great music and have also commissioned a new work from Giles Swayne (who is quite a character!!). After writing some 'Hannah letters', The Britten-Pears Foundation and the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust have kindly agreed to fund the project. The piece is called 'Leonardo's Dream' and is based on a code that Da Vinci scribbled down - sounds very interesting, though we haven't got the score yet! It's probably being written as I type! I'll be getting it as a pdf on wednesday - and as I haven't got a printer at the moment, it looks like I'll be learning it off my laptop screen! I just hope it's nice and playable otherwise my Christmas will be well and truly written-off!!!! I look forward to my fate being revealed!!

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